A Lonely Soul's Awakening
by Shadowclanwarrior
Summary: When a ticking clock made by witches harks the rise of the kishin Asura, the D.W.M.A is in a panic. In the shadows, a secret organization of witches plan to speed up the process of awakening the kishin. Going beyond the laws of the academy, an outcast meister and weapon rush to the darkest pits of Death City's underbelly, to find the witches responsible for the sudden awakening.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

**Hello everyone! This is my first Soul Eater fanfic, an anime which I adore and currently enjoying the manga. However, this is a special fanfic, as I am cowritng with one of my good friends, Webster Johnston. He and I are working on this fanfic together, so because of that, it may take some time between updates. But with summer just around the corner, hopefully we can get a lot of updates in!**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy the first chapter of our fanfic and please review!**

* * *

_...A sound soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body..._

_Death City. 11pm. 50 days before incident._

The crescent moon. That full, thick, ridiculously laughing moon, blood dripping from its gums. In the dark shadows, an unknown killer smiled, pulling back his black and cracked lips to show off his large and sharpened teeth, grinning in the light it gave off. What a perfect symphony it gave off in the inner ears of his soul. He tilted back, still grinning. The music was pulsing, gently at first, but now louder and louder, rising up from the depths of his brain.

It was time. Time for the release of his own additions to the music.

He'd been stalking the drunkard for a while now, waiting, watching, and waiting some more for the right moment to strike. Even though the drunkard hadn't done anything yet, he was annoying and useless.

Perfect prey.

The killer licked his lips and then, scuttling on all fours, lashed out. The drunkard looked up, a huge mass came down from the rooftops. He tried to scream, but couldn't. The form tackled him, and with one quick slash of his razor sharp fingernail, the drunkard died. The killer then latched his teeth into his neck, and his tongue came into contact with his blood. He was so thirsty..._so_ thirsty for the rich and clean taste of blood.

But before he could even begin to take his first sip, a figure appeared out of nowhere and attacked him. He felt something sharp sink into his back, the killer letting out an animal like cry as the blade was quickly released from him. The killer backed away from his prey, his bloodshot brown-red eyes staring up at his attacker.

And to his surprise, he was staring face to face with a teenage girl, holding a large axe that had the strange resemblance of a metal pipe, with a guitar-like handle. The axe was topped with two large and curved blades that glowed a dirty silver in the moonlight. A chain snaked up her right arm, with the small keychain of a cartoonish frowny face with an eye patch hanging from the end of it.

The girl narrowed her icy blue eyes.

"Bennett," she said softly, her voice being monotone. "Prepare to take him down."

She then charged at the killer, the axe in both of her hands. Using his quick reflexes, the killer was able to doge her attack. The killer gave a twisted smile, the music inside his soul reaching its peak as he aimed to claw out the girl's face. However, the girl skillfully parried his attack, his claw-like finger nails getting tangled up in her axe. The axe, apparently named Bennett, was able to draw a faint amount of dark, black blood from the killer's fingers. In rage, the killer used all his strength to push the girl back, crying out in anger. Not a single emotion could be seen on the girl's face, her eyes never leaving the killer's murderous eyes.

The killer leaped up and tried to tackle her. The girl didn't make a single move, as he was looming on top of her, the fingernails fully unsheathed, poised and ready to stab.

Suddenly, the girl moved to the side, causing the killer to miss his target and fall. Once down on the ground, the girl put her booted foot on top of his back. She glared at him for a moment, before she finally rose Bennett above her head with both hands and then made the final blow. The killer screamed, his dying breaths ceasing as his body faded away, leaving behind only his bright red soul. The girl took a step back.

"Alright, Bennett, we've got him."

_"Yes! Now I can devour his soul!"_

With the axe turning pure white, it disappeared from the girl's hands and transformed right next to her into a teenage boy, who wore a black jacket with patches and pins on it. His hair was spiked up on his right side, a dark teal and aquamarine color, while his left side was completely shaved off. The boy smiled.

"Nice work, Rika," Bennett said with a wink. "You did a good job taking that psycho down!"

Rika blinked.

"It wasn't that hard. Once you get an idea what the killer's actions are, it is easy to read his mind."

She turned her attention back to the soul.

"Scan the area in case there is something else lurking about. I want a good look at the killer's soul before you claim it."

Getting on her knees, Rika sat down and took out a small notebook from her black and blue skirt's pocket, observing the red soul and take notes on it. Bennett rolled his bright green eyes.

"Really, Rika? Do you really have to study every single soul we collect?"

He shook his head.

"You know, _someone_ is going to find out. And we are going to get into big trouble with Lord Death if he suspects what you are trying to study."

"Is it really that big of a deal?"

Rika didn't bother to look up at her partner as she wrote.

"Studying the transformations of a kishin is more of a benefit for the D.W.M.A then just ignoring that they exist. If we could get the right data, perhaps we can find a way to save someone who is suffering the transformation, or find out how to prevent a kishin from being born or even-"

"Rika, I get it."

Bennett sighed.

"Just...hurry up. I want to get home so I can finish that killer song I've been working on for weeks now."

Stretching his arms, he then began to walk around the empty street, hands over his head and fingers intertwined. After a few minutes, he walked over to the dead drunkard.

"Uh...so, what are we suppose to do with him?" he asked. "We can't just leave him here."

Rika finished the last few notes.

"I'll just call Lord Death so he can send someone to take him to the academy. They will take care of it."

She stood up, pulling back a few stray hairs of her long black hair behind her ear.

"The soul is all yours, Bennett."

Bennett grinned, making his way back to where the soul laid. He took a hold of it and swallowed it in one gulp, letting out a sigh of satisfaction.

"Yep...best soul I've had in weeks."

He turned to face Rika.

"Sure you don't want me to come with you to deliver this guy? I mean, I don't just want to leave you alone, especially if more creeps come by."

Rika shook her head.

"No, it is fine."

She gave a faint smile.

"Besides, you said you wanted to work on your music. And I prefer not to hear all that racket, if I have the option."

Bennett placed a hand on his chest.

"Oh, my dear Rika, how you mistreat me so!" he exclaimed, swooning and gasping in theatrical surprise.

Rika rolled her eyes, shaking her head. Bennett continued on.

"If you weren't so limited in your musical tastes, then you'd appreciated the wonderful bliss that is..."

He fell still for a moment, but then he flung his left hand out, his many silver bands and rings on his fingers in full sight.

"ROCK!"

He then made a rock hand, the middle and ring fingers with the thumb down, while the pointer and pinkie stayed up.

"AND!"

Bennett crowed, putting the gesture up to his face.

"ROOLLLLLL!"

He finished by waving his arm in a circle, and mimicked playing a guitar.

"Vin, vin, vin! Doobedoobbedo...WIWIWIWIWIWIWIIWIWIWIWIWIWIIIINNNNNNN!"

He practically shouted, finishing off his pretend solo.

"GOOD NIGHT DEATH CITY!"

Bennett bellowed into the night, his right hand still in the rock gesture. Rika sighed heavily, but she slowly clapped.

"Excellent work. Now, shall we talk to Lord Death, then?"

Bennett turned to her, grinning.

"Yeah, sure. Let us go do that," he said, placing his hands in his pockets, a bright smile on his face.

The two then turned, Bennett whistling away while Rika quietly telling him to settle down, the two hurried to a nearby mirror. It was set up near a clothing store, long abandoned and the windows boarded up, but Rika brushed away the dust and Bennett worked on the grime on the large single person mirror. Rika quickly breathed on it and, using her finger to trace Lord Death's number.

"Forty-two..." she muttered, "forty-two..."

"Five six four," Bennett added, tracing the said numbers onto the mirror.

When they were done, the mirror went black. A small banner popped up on the mirror. It read, 'Now Calling: Lord Death.' Rika and Bennett quickly looked at each other, then to the mirror. They waited for about ten minutes before Bennett looked at Rika again. She felt her partner's gaze and turned her head.

"What is it?"

At first, Bennett didn't know what to say, but he finally took the dive.

"You got some...blood. On your cheek."

Rika looked at him, alarmed. She quickly brushed away at her left cheek, but couldn't find anything.

"Other one."

She did the same action, and what came up was a small dash of black blood on her finger. She stared at it, almost like it was the most valuable item in the world. She quickly took out her notebook and wiped the blood on the page, making a small note on the paper.

"Thank you," Rika said, closing her book and tucking it away.

"No prob," Bennett replied.

The banner disappeared, and Death's masked face came up. Lord Death was a character. Towering over the mirror, his cartoonish mask was always a comfort to the students at the D.W.M.A. Even with the dark cloak and the ragged looking pointy hat, he's still the upbeat character that made him the greatest shinigami headmaster there ever was.

"Hi! Hi! Yoo! Sup? Suuuup? What's up?!" he exclaimed, leaning down so that his face filled the entire mirror.

Rika bowed.

"Hello, Lord Death." she greeted, standing up. "We are doing fine, thank you."

Bennett waved a two fingered salute.

"Hey Death, we're doing great. Just took down another killer," he announced, grinning.

"Awesome!"

Death clapped his oversized white and blocky hands.

"Awesome! It also looks like you got your eightieth soul too! Congratulations! Just nineteen more souls and a witch's soul to go and then your goal is complete!"

Bennett nodded, his mouth drooling a little.

"Yeah, nineteen to go," he mumbled, slurping.

He giggled with glee and placed his hands on his cheeks.

"Souls, souls.. mmhmhmhm..."

Rika shook her head.

"We have the killer's victim's body ready for disposal, Lord Death," she stated.

Lord Death nodded.

"Excellent! Excellent! That's great! I'll have someone clean that up shortly."

Rika bowed again.

"Thank you, Lord Death."

Lord Death studied her for a moment.

"I must say, however," he said, leaning back. "You are making fine progress as well as an Axe Meister, Rika. It was one of the hardest and most complicated weapons to master, not to mention the sheer concentration you'd need for it. I'm very impressed indeed."

Rika looked taken aback for a short time, but controlled herself.

"T-thank you."

"Anytime!"

Lord Death waved his hand.

"Now, you two should get some shut eye! It's nearly midnight!"

Rika nodded. "Yes, we will."

Bennett looked back at the mirror and smiled at Death. "See ya!"

He waved good-bye. Death waved back.

"Byyyeeee!"

He backed away, and the image reverted back to a mirror. Bennett lowered his hand.

"Nineteen more souls, huh?" he said a throaty whisper. "That's not a lot left. Have I really acquired eighty souls already?"

Rika nodded.

"Yes," she answered, "looks like you have."

Bennett smiled softly and raised a hand to his face.

"Maybe I should write a song about this, an acoustic version. It'll have a slow baseline and a dramatic drum line..."

"How about no."

Rika yawned.

"It's nearly midnight anyways. Wait until morning, won't you?"

Bennett smiled. "Yeah, okay."

With that, the two looked at each other, the tall punk with the grin and the quiet girl with the black hair, before heading out of the alleyway, and onto the main street. They walked until they got to their little apartment, Bennett unlocking the door. He then walked through the doorway, Rika slowly closing the door behind them.


	2. Chapter 2

_Death City. 7am. 49 days before incident._

As she got ready for school, Rika stood before her bathroom mirror, combing her hair as her mind drifted off.

All night, she had been thinking about the kishin she and Bennett fought last night, or the soon-to-be-kishin, she should say. After studying all eighty souls they have collected, she had an idea of the stages of the kishin, at least the prestages. To become a kishin, one must lose their humanity to their own fears, obsessions, desires, despairs, or hatred; to fully lose themselves to their own sense of madness.

Madness was an interesting topic to study, as there is no pure definition of it. Its meaning and its power is different for every human, which meant that each transformation into a kishin was different per victim. The last kishin they fought must have been a kishin of wrath, Rika had noted, the aggressive animalistic nature of their killer being the clear give away. He was pretty far gone, almost unrecognizably human. If they hadn't caught him when they did, she hypothesized, that he would have become a full bred kishin in a matter of months.

Though a part of her wondered how much conscious thinking the killer, the kishin, had. Was it aware of its transformation into a monster, and if so, did it care? Did it _enjoy_ it? Did it-

"Rika, are you done in there? We are going to be late if you don't hurry up!"

Bennett's voice shook Rika out of her accelerating thoughts.

"...Sorry," she replied. "I'm almost done."

She quickly placed her comb down and put half of her hair up. Staring at her reflection for a second, she then opened the door to see Bennett waiting for her.

"You okay?" he asked. "You were in there for a long time."

Rika avoided eye contact.

"It's nothing. I'm just tired from last night."

She made her way to the door.

"Shall we go?"

Bennett studied her for a moment before replying.

"...Yep! I'm ready to rock through the day!"

He ran out of the apartment, standing next to Rika as she locked the door.

"So...what are we going to do today, by chance?" Bennett asked with a large, eager grin.

Rika shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm not sure, but I think in Professor Stein's class we'll be doing another dissection lab."

Bennett froze, his face becoming pale.

"Oh God...not again..."

He let out a dramatic sigh and fell to the ground.

"I can't be the only one who doesn't like having a guy who is _clearly_ unstable as a teacher, right?! I mean...who uses dissection as a teaching method every single day!?"

Rika rolled her eyes.

"Professor Stein is a brilliant meister and is the best the D.W.M.A has ever seen. You should be proud to be learning from him."

She helped Bennett stand up.

"And besides," Rika added, "I like the dissecting labs."

Bennett rolled his eyes.

"Of course you would like it! You're always into weird stuff like that!"

"Like you are into that weird music."

Bennett gasped, staring at Rika like she had just now given him the biggest insult that she could ever bestow upon him.

"Rock and Roll is not weird! It _is_ my soul!"

He paused.

"...Please don't tell me you're going to say 'dissecting is my soul' as a comeback. Because that would be _very_ messed up..."

Though it was hard to see, Bennett could faintly see Rika's lips twitch to form a smile. He even could hear a faint _laugh_ from her.

"No, because I am not Professor Stein," Rika answered calmly. "His mind seems to fully revolve around dissection, where as mine doesn't."

She began to walk down the street.

"Come on, Bennett. We can't stand here all day overdramatizing everything. Just try not to make a fool of yourself when it is time for Professor Stein's class, alright?"

* * *

"NO! You won't take me alive!"

When it was finally time for Professor Stein's class, Bennett was trying his best to run as Rika forced him towards the class. They were causing quite a scene, Bennett struggling to get out of his meister's grasp while Rika did all she could to restrain him. Many of the students who walked passed them gave strange looks, as if they weren't sure if they should try to break the two apart or just let them be.

"Bennett, you fool," Rika cursed, using all of her strength to throw him towards the direction of Stein's classroom. "Do you want us to get detention or something?"

"Rika, did you not see that bird on that table?!" Bennett exclaimed in pure horror. "It's clear that its _still_ alive! I don't want to dissect something that's _alive_ with a _fricking beating heart_!"

"I'm sure you are just imaging it-"

"NO! I CLEARLY saw it twitch its leg!"

"You are just paranoid."

"And you are _way_ too calm about this!"

"No, I'm just more mature. You are way too emotional."

"At least I HAVE emotions! I swear, you act like a cyborg at times."

Rika sighed in reply.

Though while he was distracted with their argument, it gave Rika the opportunity to get Bennett in the classroom. By the time Bennett realized where he was, he and Rika were already at their seats. Bennett glared at her.

"I swear if we have to do any dissecting, I want _no_ part in it!"

"If that's what you want," Rika replied nonchalantly. "Just note that if you ditch this class one more time, you could get suspended for a month or more."

Bennett crossed his arms.

"Thanks for caring."

He looked down at the bird that laid on the operating table, where very subtly, its talon twitched. His eyes widened, shaking in his seat as Rika patted his shoulder to comfort him.

At that moment, the bell rang for class to begin. Sitting in his desk chair, a middle age man with a giant screw in his head and a white lab coat rolled over to middle of the classroom. He gave a large, slightly mad smile, his green eyes glowing with a large scar on his face.

"Good morning, class," Professor Franken Stein said. "Today we have a very special animal to dissect today, one that is worth one whole test grade!"

With that said, Bennett dropped his head to his desk and groaned.

"_Why_ me...?"

Rika sighed.

Resting her hand against her head, she listened carefully to Stein's instructions on the dissection, as she knew she would have to explain it all to Bennett once they began the assignment. Suddenly, in the middle of the instruction, the door to the classroom was burst open.

"Ha ha! There is no need to worry!" a teenage boy with spiky blue hair exclaimed. "Black Star is here!"

Everyone turned towards the Shadow Meister's direction, as Black Star confidently walked into the classroom. Behind him, a few others came in. One of them was Tsubaki, Black Star's partner, whose face was so red from her meister's embarrassing entrance. The others were Maka, the top student of the D.W.M.A who looked just as embarrassed as Tsubaki, her weapon, Soul, who kept his cool and just calmly stepped into the room. In the back, the son of Lord Death himself, Death the Kid, came in with his partners Liz and Patty at each of his sides.

"Well...isn't this impressive," Stein said, as if he was expecting something like this. "Usually only at least two of you are late to my class. But all of you at once? Something big must have happened to cause that."

He turned to face them.

"So, what is the excuse?"

"I-I can explain, professor," Maka answered, her voice shaky with embarrassment. "You see..."

"Black Star and Kid got into a fight because Black Star messed up the arrangement of the Extracurricular Board," Soul explained. "You probably heard all the shouting from here. We were all trying to break them apart, which is why we are late."

Black Star rolled his eyes.

"It was not that big of a deal," he said casually. "I just took down a few assignments for extra credit."

"YOU TOOK OVER A QUARTER OF THE ASSIGNMENTS OFF THE BOARD!"

Kid stepped up to Black Star, his whole body shaking.

"You took so many to the point where there was no way to fix it symmetrically!" he shouted. "You cannot expect me to let you get away with something so disgusting while I was _standing right there_!"

Black Star shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey, you could have just walked away. You know the Great Black Star needs as many missions as I can get to cure the boredom I will face for how easy they are. I'm just that awesome that I need that kind of entertainment."

"Why you little disgusting, asymmetrical-"

Before he could lay a hand on Black Star, Kid was pulled back by the Thompson sisters, Tsubaki whispering to Black Star to calm down. Stein gave an amused smile.

"I'm just glad you two have yet to destroy anything. Now, please go to your seats so that I can get my class started again."

"Yes, professor."

Maka gave a respectful bow and they all walked up to their seats, all of the students watching them.

"Wow, that's amazing," Bennett commented to Rika. "And yet you call _me_ a dramatic! At least I haven't tried to kill someone because they ruin something's symmetrical balance or whatever. Kind of sad, isn't it?"

He waited for a reply, yet one did not come.

"...Rika?"

He glanced over to see that Rika was staring into space, her eyes straight on Kid. Bennett raised an eyebrow.

"Uh...D.W.M.A to Rika! Are you there?"

Finally hearing him, Rika blinked and turned to him.

"Yes, what is it?"

Bennett smirked. Rika narrowed her eyes.

"_Bennett_...?"

Bennett chuckled.

"Hehehehehehehehe! Nothing, it's nothing."

He turned his attention to Stein, giggling to himself. Rika sighed, ultimately ignoring him as the rest of the lesson went on.

* * *

As Rika and Bennett, now green from the aftermath of the dissection lab, left for their lunch period, they stopped by the Extracurricular Board to see the damage.

"Yeesh, Kid wasn't kidding," Bennett muttered.

The board usually had all of the wooden plaques of missions that mostly consisted of killing kishins or resolving a kishin problem in a certain area of the world. Now, nearly all of them were either gone or on the floor in the tumult of Black Star's and Kid's fight out there several minutes before. Bennett picked one up and nearly gasped at the sight of it.

"That Black Star tried to take the demon possessed guitar job! That asshole! Man, I was eyeing that one for a while now..."

Rika rolled her eyes.

"A demon possessed guitar?" she repeated. "Really?"

Bennett looked up, nodding.

"Well, yeah!" he exclaimed, putting it back on the rack. "Who wouldn't want a-"

"HOLD IT!" a loud voice yelled.

It came from the same direction as the classroom that Bennett and Rika had left from not too long before. The pair turned to see Death's son with the two weapons running up from behind, Kid at full speed, while Liz and Patty following behind in close pursuit.

"Kid! Wait up!" Liz called, while Patty yelled, "FASTER, FASTER! WHEEE!"

When the three came up to Rika and Bennett, Kid pointed a finger at him.

"Put that plaque back on the floor!" he commanded.

Bennett blinked, seemingly puzzled.

"Wait, what?"

"I said put it back!" Kid ordered, again. "You did it wrong!"

Bennett was about to say something, but Rika quickly took the plaque from his hand and unceremoniously dropped it into Kid's hand.

"Is this what you wanted?" she asked.

Kid looked at her for a second, then back to the plaque in his hand.

"Unbelievable..."

He then put the plaque in Liz's hand.

"Liz, please hold onto this for a second," he said, and he bent over to pick the other plaques up.

"Uh... sure," Liz replied.

Patty joined Kid, and started to pick the plaques up as well.

"I can't believe that moron tried to grab all of the jobs, the nerve of him! The least he could do is work on his actual school studies."

"Well," Rika said, crouching down to help pick up, "if you know Black Star, then you know that a disaster is soon to follow."

Kid laughed lightly.

"Yes, that word suits him. Eight letters. Symmetrical. A huge disaster suits him more."

He then stood up.

"Liz, help me with these."

Liz nodded and took some of the plaques from the pile in his arms and placed one after another onto the racks.

"Make sure that all of the racks has the exact same number of jobs on them! And straighten them as well!" Kid barked.

Liz sighed, "Fine, Kid. Jeez, I'll do it."

She continued on. Kid then turned to Rika, a question on his mind.

"Say, I've never seen you before. Are you a new student or something?" he asked curiously.

Rika shook her head.

"No, we've been here for the first EAT year, and now this is our second year. Bennett and I probably have different schedules than you, if that's the case."

Kid nodded.

"Strange," he muttered. "I've never noticed you two before today."

"Well, it usually is the question of you hearing us first, before you see us."

She turned to Bennett, who looked taken aback.

"Hear us?!" he cried, aghast. "Rika! This is the second time you've made me look like a loser today! I mean, seriously!?"

"You see?" Rika said, barely smiling.

Kid looked at Bennett with curiosity.

"Usually, weapons are supposed to be the same age as the meister. You look..."

"What? I look what?" Bennett demanded. "Is this question gonna be about my hair, because this is how I work with my hair! Also, I maybe am dying it teal. Probably."

Rika sighed.

"It's not about your hair, it's about your age."

"I'm a late bloomer, that's all!" Bennett defended, raising his hands. "It's not my fault my weapon form didn't come to me when I was young!"

Kid blinked.

"I see. Interesting..."

He then looked over to the younger Thompson sister, who was counting all of the jobs on the racks.

"Patty, could you hang on to these for a second?" he asked, handing the rest of the plaques to Patty.

"Okay!" she said, and quickly started to put those ones back on the racks.

"Me and the other two meisters, Maka and... Black Star," he said, emphasizing the name 'Black Star' like a sickness, "are planning to go do a job in the north. Apparently there are strange sightings of flying women on brooms there. And they're not alone."

He interlaced his fingers.

"Nearly two hundred kishins are following them. My father is troubled about it. We just got this job this morning, and we'd be grateful for the backup. Plus, I'm curious to see what your weapon can do."

"Well, that's awfully kind of you but-" Rika said, but Bennett placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Well, I can tell you that we kick serious butt as a team! But, I'm sorta afraid that you can't catch up with us! We're like a two man band, YEAH!"

Bennett then pumped his fist in the air.

"Our teamwork knows no bounds, bro! You know it!"

Kid nodded, chuckling.

"Great. I'll see you tomorrow night, then. We're holding a before mission coffee meeting the day before we head for Tibet. Please bring some money for pastries, I only have so much for the coffee."

With that, Kid left. Liz and Patty finished with the organization of the missions and turned around.

"Okay Kid, we're done-"

Liz started to say, but she stopped.

"Hey, where'd- wuh?"

She looked at Bennett.

"Hey, do you know where he ran off to?" she asked.

He nodded.

"Yeah, he ran off to... the... yard, I think."

Liz nodded. "Okay, thanks."

She then bumped Patty.

"C'mon Patty, let's go."

Patty nodded, smiling.

"Okay!"

They then left to find Kid. When they were gone, Bennett sighed and placed a hand on his hip.

"Sheesh. Kid lucked out getting a weapon. Two cute ones at that."

Rika just looked at Bennett, eyebrows raised.

"You? An affinity? With them? This is unlike you."

Bennett's face turned bright red.

"What? It wasn't like you were staring at Kid a few moments ago! Trying to get him to notice us with you mentioning about my weapon form!"

Rika said nothing in reply. Bennett smirked.

"C'mon, let's go get some lunch. I'm fricken starving!"


	3. Chapter 3

_Death City. 11am. 49 days before incident._

Rika never liked the concept of eating outside. It was always too crowded, loud, too hot or too cold... It was very uncomfortable.

But she and her weapon took their lunches, bento boxes with dumplings with minced pork and green onions, rice, and small bowls of miso, and sat on the steps of the huge D.W.M.A entrance. The two quietly ate their lunches, Bennett with gusto, Rika more quieter and polite. When they were done, Bennett pulled out a small pocket notebook.

"So, Rika, what do you think?"

Rika wiped her mouth with a small napkin and swallowed.

"What do I think about what?" she asked.

"I was thinking of a song with...one of those wa-wa pedal things?" Bennett explained. "They sounded cool, so I thought, maybe I should use that for the basement show I'm doing next week."

Rika raised her eyebrows.

"A basement show?"

"Yeah, me and a couple of other guys are setting up the basement of our apartment complex for the show that's coming up!" Bennett said cheerfully.

"No," Rika harshly stated, shaking her head. "Absolutely not."

Bennett gave a face of pure disappointment.

"Why not?" he asked. "It'll be quieter than last time!"

"You'll keep me up all night with that racket. Besides, we've had complaints from all of the neighbors, even with the windows shut and the doors locked. If you plan to do one of your concerts, then I suggest you take it somewhere else than in there."

"_Come on_ Rika-"

"Are you deaf? No."

Bennett jumped back slightly. The look on Rika's face was a mask of pure scariness. It was as if a demon had taken over that face and it was giving him all of its wrath in that second. He stared into his soup, admitting defeat.

"K," he muttered, starting to slurp up the soup.

Rika turned her attention away from him.

"Thank you."

In an awkward silence, the two continued their lunch.

"...So, I was thinking we could head to the gym for last minute weapon practice," Rika said, swallowing a spoonful.

"Good idea." Bennett nodded. "We do need to polish up on a few things. Besides, you didn't even use the chain technique we had made!"

Rika made a face.

"Swinging you around by the chain is...well, it's too dangerous for a one on one battle."

"_Still_! We'd look so kickass!"

"No, Bennett."

"But-"

"_No_. We need more time using the handle, and not the chain. Understand?"

There was a short silence, where eventually, Bennett let out a heavy sigh.

"Yes..."

Rika nodded.

"Good. Now, finish up. We have a job to prepare for."

* * *

After lunch, the two walked over to the large dome that served as the gym for the school. Already, students of the NOT class were warming up for their after lunch phys ed classes. Rika crossed her arms and stared at the younger students, her head slightly cocked. Bennett walked past her and leaned over the railing of the spectator seats.

"Looks like we got beat by the NOTs, huh?" he commented.

Rika nodded. "Obviously."

The two watched the NOTs as they stretched and warmed up for the coming torture of physicality.

"You know, I never really got it," Bennett suddenly commented, rubbing his chin.

Rika looked at her partner inquiringly.

"Never got what, exactly?"

"I never really got why someone wouldn't want to use their powers to battle kishins," he explained, an unusual look of thoughtfulness in his green gaze. "We meisters and weapons need all the help we can get. I mean, what if a huge war occurred? All of us students would have to be in the front line, yeah?"

Rika nodded and turned back to the scene.

"That is true, yes. But weapons never really choose to be weapons. Some people are not made to become tools of war. For a weapon, you should be more informed on these things."

Bennett sighed.

"I should, yeah, but I never do the research. It really sucks on my part."

There was a small pause.

"Come on," Rika said as she straightened up from her perch. "We got to get to the training rooms. We've already spent too much time here."

"Yeah, good point," Bennett said, straightening up as well. "Maybe we can pull some strings and make it to class a few minutes late, yeah?"

"Let's hope we don't have to do that," Rika muttered as the two walked down the stairs to the main field.

Some of the NOT students, mostly the girls, were pointing and staring at Bennett. There was hints of admiration and even hope in their eyes. He noticed this and winked at them, a grin on his face. They swooned a little, and one student, a petite girl with dark brown hair and brown eyes fainted. Rika noticed what Bennett did and rolled her eyes.

"Lady's man as usual?" she questioned as they neared the changing rooms.

"Well… What can I say?" Bennett said, shrugging. "My shows aim to please and entertain. Besides, my fame reaches most before the music does."

"What, that static noise you call music?"

"Well, it is music to some people!"

"Mmhm."

"I'm getting hints that you aren't believing me, Rika. Being one of little faith once again?"

"How about you put two and two together and figure it out, yeah?"

Bennett paused.

"….You have no faith in me."

"Bingo."

"I called it!"

"And you were right," Rika said, stopping in front of the female changing rooms. "Now, go away. I've got to change."

Bennett backed up, hands high in the air.

"Fine, fine. Meet you out here in five minutes?"

"Try four." Rika replied, walking away.

"Okay! Four minutes!" Bennett repeated as he headed into the male changing room.

In the female changing room, Rika opened her locker and took out her training clothes.

Inside the locker door, there was a picture of her and Bennett as first years. Both of them were clad in protective body armor, Bennett grinning from ear to ear while Rika held a joyful look. The two were both holding up a silver trophy and engraved on it was, 'D.W.M.A Fighting Tourney, Second Place.' Looking at the picture, Rika gave a small smile, delicately moving her finger across the picture.

Fame before music, hm? To her, it was _the music_ before the fame.


	4. Chapter 4

_Death City. 4:25pm. 48 days before incident._

"Ah, there you two are!" Kid called out as Rika and Bennett approached the coffee shop. "I was beginning to wonder when you guys were going to show up."

Bennett gave a large smile as Kid, Liz, Patty, Maka, Soul, Black Star, and Tsubaki looked up at them.

"Sorry we are late!" Bennett said, putting one hand on the back of an empty chair. "But we had some difficulties on the way here..."

Rika crossed her arms, an angry look on her face.

"And by difficulties, he means that he _had_ to stop by the music shop on the way here, getting distracted to the point _beyond_ reason..."

As she spoke, her voice grew colder and colder.

"Hey, that new drum set was wicked cool!" Bennett exclaimed, waving his hands as he made a vain attempt to defend himself. "You _know_ the drum set we have right now is falling apart! I need to start looking for a new one and-"

"Bennett, we _get_ it."

Sitting down in one of the two empty chairs, Rika took a seat next to Kid, her breathing becoming heavier as she tried to gain control of her anger. Bennett sat next her and Black Star, a slight look of fear on his face as he avoided eye contact with his meister. Maka gave a friendly smile.

"You guys weren't too late," she said to Rika, "we've only been here for a little while and there is no rush. But I can totally relate to your frustration about your weapon getting easily distracted from what is important..."

Her green gaze glared at Soul for a second before returning her attention to Rika.

"So, your names are Rika and Bennett, right? I've seen you two in Professor Stein's class."

Rika nodded.

"Yes. I'm Rika Moreau and this is my partner, Bennett Davis."

"Nice to meet you," Tsubaki replied with a friendly smile. "We've never had the chance to talk, so I'm glad we are finally able to!"

"Yeah," Black Star added. "After all, not all are lucky enough to get close to the Great Black Star!"

"Err..._sure_," Bennett said with a small laugh. "Whatever makes you happy, dude."

Rika rolled her eyes.

"So, from what Rika said, you're into music, Bennett?" Soul mentioned casually. "What kind of music do you play?"

Bennett grinned.

"Well...I'm right now working up to be a famous rock star. Me and a couple of my close friends get together every so often to write music and perform basement shows..._much_ to my meister's dislike..."

Rika growled at that response, rubbing her forehead as her muscles tensed up.

"...Say, Rika, would you like go with me to get some coffee?" Kid said, trying to ease the building tension. "I promised I would buy everyone a cup, and I've yet to buy it."

Rika looked up at him.

"...All right. Coffee sounds good."

She turned her blue gaze to her partner.

"What kind of coffee do you want?"

Bennett paused for a moment.

"Hmm...I don't know... Surprise me, but get me something strong."

Rika sighed. "If that is what you want."

She and Kid then got up from their seats and went inside the coffee shop. There was a semi long line, having at least four people in front of them.

"I guess your partner can be a little aggravating," Kid commented as he tried to start a conversation. "You looked like you were about to punch him in the face."

Rika clutched her fists.

"He can be such an idiot at times, I will admit. Music is his passion and he will stop at _nothing_ to become the 'rock star' he dreams to be. While his determination is to be admired, it can get in the way of school, meetings, and even missions."

Kid gave a sympathetic look.

"I see where you are coming from. While there are many things I admire in my partners, Liz and Patty do not understand the importance of keeping the symmetry perfect in our house or anywhere for that matter. It drives me mad at times, but once I get things straighten up again, everything goes on like nothing ever happened."

The line moved slightly forward, as the next person began to take their order.

"And yet I have no doubt that I am difficult to deal with at times, as he is to me," Rika said, her eyes on the ground. "For as long as I've known him, I've never seen him get angry at me or show any aggression to anyone. It is amazing...how much patience he has for people."

She sighed.

"Since that is the _only_ thing he seems to have patience for..."

Kid gave a small laugh.

"From what I've seen, it would seem you two complement each other well. I look forward to see how well your souls resonate when we go after the witches."

Rika gave a very small smile.

"I look forward to it as well...fighting beside you and the others."

A faint blush made its way to her face.

"_Ack_! What the hell?!"

Bennett's loud voice suddenly came into the coffee shop, sounding as if something heavy was thrown upon him. Eyes wide, Rika, followed by Kid, went back outside to see the arms of a girl with purple cat ears and revealing clothes hugging Bennett tightly from behind.

"Aw! He is _so_ cute!" the girl exclaimed in a high pitch voice. "Maka, Soul, who's this new friend of yours?"

Soul's face turned a bright red.

"Uh, well, this is..." he stammered out, but Maka came to the rescue.

"Blair, this is Bennett. He's a weapon to... Oh, Rika!"

Rika's eyes widened as she saw the scene. Bennett's face was already turning a bright red as the woman, Blair, pressed herself against his back. Rika coughed and Blair looked up. She looked completely innocent, with hints of playfulness here and there in her eyes.

"Oh, hello there! You must be this young man's user, yes?"

Rika nodded.

"Yes, I am," she said stiffly.

Blair giggled and pressed herself closer. Bennett's face was now a mask of crimson embarrassment, with a tiny hint of blood coming out of his nose.

"He's such a strong looking little boy, isn't he?" Blair mused, tracing a finger over the muscles of his arms "I wonder what weapon he is, hm? A gun? A sword?"

"Actually, I'm an axe..." Bennett mumbled.

Blair squealed and clapped her hands together.

"Oo! An axe? Can I see, can I see? I've only seen Soul's scythe! Please, please can I see?"

Bennett scratched the shaved side of his head, his face paling from the question.

"Well... I don't know..."

"C'mon, Benny! You wouldn't let a girl down, hm?" Blair cooed, tracing his face with a single fingernail.

Bennett's face became the crimson mask, again. Rika coughed.

"Will you let me borrow him for a second?" she asked.

"No no, it's fine, Rika! It's totally..."

"Okay!" Blair nodded, getting off of Bennett. "Here you go!"

"Thank you," Rika replied, grabbing Bennett's arm and dragging him away from the group.

"_What_ the hell is your problem?" Bennett asked, retching his arm from Rika's tight grip.

"My problem? You're the one who was being used as a tool for that girl!"

"Cat, actually."

"I _don't_ care," Rika snapped, poking at Bennett's chest. "Look, all I want is to get through with this meeting and then you can go and be with that cat, alright!?"

Bennett stared at Rika for a second, then to Blair. The cat lady noticed his stare and winked. Bennett tensed up and looked back at Rika.

"...Alright. Okay, I'll... I'll try to control myself." he muttered.

Rika nodded, satisfied.

"Good. Now, coffee?"

Bennett nodded, smiling. "Yeah, sure."

After the tension worn down and Blair left to go back to Maka and Soul's house, the meeting reconvened. Coffee was brought for everyone there, and they all sipped and chatted automatically. Kid was the first to stand up.

"All right," he announced. "Let's get this started. First of all, I'd like to properly recognize our new party members. Rika and Bennett, thank you for coming."

"It's no problem!" Bennett said, showing a lopsided grin. "We're here for the ass kicking and collect souls! And besides, we need 'em. Especially the witch souls."

Rika nodded.

"Well, not just for the souls," she added, "but I would like some in depth research into the witches and how they use their..._techniques_."

She sipped at her coffee and continued.

"Still. This really does concern me with the gathering. The kishin are not this organized, and usually they work on instinct."

Kid nodded.

"Agreed, this is something new, even for them!"

"So what?" Black Star asked, leaning back in his chair. "It's more for the Great Black Star and his team of followers to take down!"

"Black Star, would you just stop talking about yourself before I misuse my better judgment and use my chop on you," Maka muttered, sipping her coffee.

"Don't make her do it, bro," Soul warned, drinking his own cup.

Black Star was about to say something else, but with the icy looks that both the Scythe Meister and weapon were giving him, he quickly changed his mind.

"Thank you, Maka," Kid said with a small smile of gratitude.

He then turned to the rest of the group.

"We believe that the meeting will be held in Europe, specifically Transylvania."

"Wait, hold up!" Bennett exclaimed, eyes wide. "Transylvania? As in _Transylvania_ Transylvania?"

"Yes," Kid replied. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Bennett raised his hands.

"No, actually! Not at all! It's just..."

His eyes quickly gleamed with excitement as he continued, "That's where the Vampire King lives!"

"V-_vampire_ King?" Liz asked nervously.

Rika sighed.

"It's a singer from a rock band," she explained. "He hails from there, and he usually portrays himself as a real vampire when he performs his songs. Bennett has all of his five albums."

"Hell yeah I do! He kicks ass!" Bennett exclaimed, throwing his fist into the air.

"Great, a fake vampire!" Kid commented, rolling his eyes, "this has become _so_ exciting."

Bennett raised a single finger. "I detect sarcasm in your voice..."

"Well, congrats. You did. Now, back to the task at hand."

He slammed both hands on the table.

"We have at least six days to get ready for the configuration. This meeting will probably be a real headache for my father, so we need to plan accordingly. Black Star and Tsubaki, you are in charge of stealth. No loud explosions this time, understood?"

Black Star grinned.

"Stealth is my specialty!" he exclaimed, while Tsubaki sighed.

"We'll not make a big mess...like last time..." she said, a sweat drop rolling down her forehead.

"Good," Kid replied.

He then turned to Maka, Soul, Rika, and Bennett.

"You four will take care of the main entrance," he ordered, "Basically, you'll be the ground force. Take down any kishins that are in your way, their souls are yours."

"What about you?" Soul asked curiously. "What are you gonna do in all of this?"

"I'm going to take the catacombs," Kid explained, "The main meeting point has a direct line through there."

"Hey hey hey!" Liz yelled, "We're NOT going down where the other creeps are! Remember the pyramid? You just left us there in the dark!"

"You were fine on your own," Kid stated.

"Says the guy who nearly DIED over a sarcophagus!"

"IT WAS THE DEFINITION OF SYMMETRY!" Kid yelled back and Patty laughed at this.

"We're not going down there, got it?!" Liz cried, getting in close to Kid, who didn't flinch.

"Fine, fine." Kid said, raising his hands. "We'll go through the Loch Bog then. Besides, it has nothing scary there-"

"Thank you!" Liz said with a sigh of relief.

However, Kid didn't finish.

"...except a perverted sea gremlin and its gang of swamp demons who haven't had the companionship of females in years, and I'll bet they'll be more than happy to meet people like you. And they'll bring their ghost and skeleton friends as well!"

Liz's face slowly became paler and paler as Kid continued.

"So, will it be the bog or the catacombs?"

"...The catacombs..." Liz grumbled, and Patty clapped her hands together.

"Yay! We're gonna see skeletons!"

"Yes, that we are," Kid said, nodding.

"Well, isn't this entertaining or what?" Bennett muttered to Rika.

She softly smiled and finished her coffee.

"It sure is, Benny. It sure is."


End file.
